The Rise of the Wehrmacht Two Volumes : The German Armed Forces and World War II

768 Pages·2008·6.36 MB·English

by  Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.

THE RISE
OF THE
WEHRMACHT
PRAEGER SECURITY INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Board Cochairs
Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of Public and International Affairs,
School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia (U.S.A.)
Paul Wilkinson, Professor of International Relations and Chairman of the
Advisory Board, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence,
University of St. Andrews (U.K.)
Members
Anthony H. Cordesman, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for
Strategic and International Studies (U.S.A.)
Th(cid:1)er(cid:2)ese Delpech, Director of Strategic Affairs, Atomic Energy Commission,
and Senior Research Fellow, CERI (Fondation Nationale des Sciences
Politiques), Paris (France)
Sir Michael Howard, former Chichele Professor of the History of War and
Regis Professor of Modern History, Oxford University, and Robert A. Lovett
Professor of Military and Naval History, Yale University (U.K.)
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.), former Deputy Chief of
Staff for Intelligence, Department of the Army (U.S.A.)
Paul M. Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History and Director,
International Security Studies, Yale University (U.S.A.)
Robert J. O’Neill, former Chichele Professor of the History of War, All Souls
College, Oxford University (Australia)
Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, Department
of Government and Politics, University of Maryland (U.S.A.)
Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International (U.S.A.)
THE RISE
OF THE
WEHRMACHT
The German Armed Forces
and World War II
Volume 1
Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mitcham, SamuelW.
The rise ofthe Wehrmacht: theGerman armedforces and WorldWarII /
Samuel W.Mitcham Jr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references andindex.
ISBN 978-0-275-99641-3 (set: alk.paper) —ISBN 978-0-275-99659-8
(v.1 :alk. paper) —ISBN 978-0-275-99661-1 (v.2: alk.paper)
1. Germany—Armed Forces—History—World War, 1939–1945. 2.World
War,1939–1945—Campaigns—Europe. 3.World War,1939–1945—
Germany. I.Title.
D757.M575 2008
940.5401343—dc22 2008000667
British Library Cataloguing inPublication Data isavailable.
Copyright '2008bySamuel W.Mitcham Jr.
All rightsreserved. Noportionofthis book maybe
reproduced, byany processor technique, without the
express written consent ofthe publisher.
Library ofCongressCatalog Card Number:2008000667
ISBN:978-0-275-99641-3 (set)
978-0-275-99659-8 (vol.1)
978-0-275-99661-1 (vol.2)
Firstpublished in2008
PraegerSecurity International, 88PostRoadWest, Westport, CT 06881
An imprintofGreenwood Publishing Group,Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed inthe United StatesofAmerica
The paperused inthis bookcomplies with the
Permanent PaperStandard issuedby theNational
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
TablesandFigures ix
VOLUME1
Preface xiii
I TheReichsheer 1
II EnterAdolfHitler 21
III TheSecretRearmament 31
IV DiplomaticSuccessesandPanzerDivisions 47
V TheRhinelandCrisis 59
VI ExpansionandTraining 69
VII TheLuftwaffeTakestheWrongPath 81
VIII ExpansionandPurges 101
IX TheAnschluss 117
X TheSudetenlandCrisis 127
XI TheWehrmachtExpandsTooRapidly 155
Contents
XII TheFallofCzechoslovakia 165
XIII OvertheEdge 171
XIV MobilizationandDeployment 183
XV FirstBlood:Poland,1939 197
XVI Sitzkrieg 219
XVII DenmarkandNorway 245
XVIII TheMansteinPlan 273
XIX TheConquestofHolland 291
XX TheDrivetotheChannel 303
XXI TheBattleoftheDunkirkPocket 323
XXII TheFallofFrance 333
XXIII TheBattleofBritain 349
VOLUME2
XXIV TheWinterofFrustration,1940–41 371
XXV HitlerComestotheAidofHisAlly 381
XXVI TheBalkansCampaign 387
XXVII TheInvasionofCrete 405
XXVIII TheSiegeofBritain,Late1940toMay1941 421
XXIX TheNorthAfricanSideshow 431
XXX PreludetoBarbarossa 439
XXXI OperationBarbarossa:TheInvasionoftheSovietUnion 459
XXXII Stalin’sWinterOffensive,1941–42 497
vi
Contents
XXXIII TheHolocaustBegins 527
XXXIV TheDesertWar 543
XXXV CrisisintheDesert 557
XXXVI TheBattlesofElAlamein 569
XXXVII TheHolocaustContinues 583
XXXVIII TheBattleoftheNorthAtlantic,1941–42 613
XXXIX TheBombingsBegin,1942 623
XL Hitler’sSummerOffensive,1942 631
XLI TheBattleofStalingrad 651
Appendix1.TableofComparativeRanks 671
Appendix2.GermanStaffPositions 674
Appendix3.GermanArmyChainofCommand:GermanUnits,
Ranks,andStrengths 675
Appendix4.CharacteristicsofSelectedTanks 676
Appendix5.LuftwaffeAviationUnits,StrengthsandRanks
ofCommanders 677
Bibliography 679
IndexofGermanMilitaryUnits 695
GeneralIndex 705
Photoessaysfollowpages182(volume1)and542(volume2).
vii
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TABLES AND FIGURES
TABLES
3.1 TheGermanArmyDivisions,October1934 34
3.2 GermanNavalBudgets,1932–39 38
6.1 OrganizationoftheGermanArmy,Endof1935 70
7.1 LuftwaffeTerritorialOrganization,1935 82
10.1 OrderofBattleoftheGermanArmy,September1938 145
10.2 OrderofBattleoftheLuftwaffe,September1938 146
14.1 PanzerFormationsinthePolishCampaign,1939 187
14.2 GermanArmyOrderofBattle,September1,1939 190
14.3 PolishArmyOrderofBattle,September1,1939 193
16.1 OrderofBattleoftheHomeArmy,Spring1940 221
16.2 Corps-LevelHeadquartersEstablishedBetween
October1939andJune1940 224
16.3 QuarterlyAllocationofFinishedSteel,1939–40 242